[logn]

I worked at a startup that was awarded SBIRs. We were developing e-learning software and our government client was an Air Force base. It's true that being able to retain copyright ownership was the reason the startup existed. However, no patents were ever filed.

I think we should just do away with software patents. Math formulas and rules to games are not patentable and I think software is exactly a fusion of formulas and rules--apps in pure functional languages are functions after all.

The exception could be firmware/software driving machinery where the invention is more than software (or the combination of software and commodity hardware).